A Room Full Of Strangers- Danny 7

There was sand in places sand had no business in being. Danny's hair, his jeans, his eyes as they slowly blinked open.

Someone was shaking him, rolling him onto his back, but between the sand and the night sky, he couldn't tell who. Faces swam in and out of clarity and lips moved, but Danny couldn't understand a word through the ringing in his ears.

More movement, more faces, all meaning lost to Danny as his brain tried to figure out what was happening and why he felt like he'd lost a fight with a mermaid.

He didn't realize he'd closed his eyes until they snapped back open with the realization that his shirt was being stripped off. Liz's face came into focus above him, mouth forming frenzied words that were distantly becoming audible. Something about "You idiot," "It's okay," and "Don't worry."

In any other situation, being manhandled out of his clothes may have been cause for concern, but Liz was telling him it was alright, and frankly, Danny was too tired to question anything beyond that.

His awareness filtered in and out, senses coming and going like the tide. He could smell salt and sea and something sour before he was picked up in strong, cold arms. He jolted when the interior of the car met his back, panicking only for a second when soaked denim began to peel away from his legs. A cool breeze chilled his skin, blowing his consciousness out of his body and somewhere to the right, taking with it any processing power his brain had left.

It wasn't until well into the drive, a few blocks away from the Tower, that he finally had all -or at least most- pieces of his consciousness working at the same time.

Robin sat tensely behind the wheel, taking turns a touch too fast and illegally passing cars. Liz was folded sideways in the passenger seat, dividing her attention between the road and the rest of the passengers.

Cyborg was lying awkwardly in the trunk, head in Starfire's lap as she pressed buttons and rerouted wires in his neck.

Danny was in the back seat leaning against the door. To his right was a sick-looking Beast Boy, and past him, Raven pressed her palms to her eyes.

"Hey," Liz offered a strained smile when she saw him looking at her. "Are you with us this time, sunshine?"

Shit. She hardly ever played the "sunshine" card. It wasn't the worst term she could have used- she had a hierarchy that correlated to the severity of the situation- but it was up there.

"What happened?" Danny's voice was more of a rasp, and he gratefully accepted a bottle of water. Goosebumps rose on his exposed arm and he realized that beyond a beach towel and his underwear, he was totally naked. "Where are my clothes?"

"Contamination," Beast Boy explained, turning to hack a cough into his elbow.

"We told you that water was nasty stuff," Cyborg piped up. "Unfortunately, that explosion sent you for a nice little swim. You might wanna try and rest while you can before the effects start to hit."

"Oh," Was all Danny could think to say. Flashes of the fight lazily trickled into his memory, but each one brought with it a wave of stinging discomfort.

Liz reached back to give his knee a reassuring squeeze. "Close your eyes, Danny."

He listened.

Decontamination showers were, in a word, unpleasant. The only saving grace was that it wasn't like what Danny had seen on TV; he wasn't stuck in a pop-up box with barely any privacy while someone in a hazmat suit scrubbed him with a broom. The Titans had a lovely little private shower explicitly made for such occasions.

But he needed to be rinsed off everywhere, and that meant literally everywhere. He'd never been cleaner in his life, but he was sure the jets had ripped off a few unnecessary layers of skin.

Whatever 'sting' Danny had felt in the car was nothing compared to the hellfire engulfing him now. The front of his legs and his chest had taken the worst of the damage, the explosion landing him face down on the beach, the tide ebbing and flowing and keeping his clothes thoroughly soaked with toxic water. The skin there was red and irritated.

The linen pants he'd been given were sandpaper against his thighs; the seam in the waistband stabbed into him like a barbed-wire belt. Cyborg's fingers may as well have been dry ice for the way they burned as he dabbed some sort of antibiotic cream on Danny's chest, and even the current of the AC was painful on his raw skin.

As if that wasn't enough, the Titans kept staring at him. Sure, it was excusable the first couple of times as Robin inspected the damage, and Cyborg told him he essentially had chemical burns wherever the water had touched him, but they were getting excessive.

Danny couldn't pinpoint what it was that was keeping them so enamored; was it because his skin was so pink he looked like he was attempting a shitty Patrick Star cosplay? Was it his ribs and collarbones jutting out like a xylophone?

As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew it was the scars; the Lichtenberg figure on his shoulder from the ghost portal explosion, the three raised, ragged inches on his thigh from when the Guys In White wanted to test how quickly ghosts could heal and cut him down to the bone, fracturing his femur for good measure. Others that he's gained from miscellaneous fights.

Danny never wanted anyone to see those parts of him, including himself. He felt violated and on display, and though he knew the Titans had no way of knowing where his scars were from, he worried they could find out. That by staring too long, his history would scrawl across his skin, and they would know.

He wanted to scream, or cry, or laugh, or maybe all of the above, and debated what kind of impression it would make if he begged someone to sedate him; if he could even be sedated, since ghost powers tended to burn through standard doses of medication like they were nothing.

Liz could either read his mind or he wasn't hiding his pain as well as he'd hoped. Gently, she ran her fingers through his hair, carefully detangling any knots she ran into. It was grounding and gave Danny something else to focus on- something that wasn't pain.

"You're almost done," She murmured. "Just a little longer."

Danny took a deep breath and tried to dissociate from his body. The room was painfully quiet, with nothing to draw his attention. Desperate to distract himself, he tried to gauge how the other Titans were holding up.

There were wood chips in Starfire's hair and splinters in her arms. She sat under a bright light and pulled them out with tweezers, a dedicated set to her mouth.

The lights in the back corner were off where Raven reclined on a bed, eyes closed. Danny remembered the sound her skull had made when she smacked into the pole and winced. He'd had his fair share of concussions, and even with accelerated healing, they sucked.

Robin lay a wet washcloth over her eyes on his way to the bed where Beast Boy lay huddled under a pile of blankets. Of them all, the green teen was the worst off.

"Definitely a respiratory infection," Robin said, voice low.

Beast Boy groaned, hiding his face as a coughing fit hit. "This sucks so much."

"That's what happens when you turn into a fish and breathe toxic water," Cyborg said. "Not your best plan, BB."

"I panicked!"

"We train for panic," Robin pointed out, trying to wrestle the top blanket away. "So we can avoid- stop fighting me! Give me the blanket."

"But I'm cold," Beast Boy whined.

"That's the fever, and it won't go down if you boil yourself like that. Give it."

Despite his best efforts, Robin won the tug of war and Beast Boy lost the blanket.

"I can't believe you'd steal from a man on his deathbed," he pouted pitifully. "Not cool, dude."

"I'll make sure you're buried in it," Robin replied, unphased.

Cyborg chuckled as he wiped his hands clean. "That should help," He turned to Liz. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," She repeated for what must have been the 20th time. Unlike the others, she hadn't suffered a direct hit from Slade, and Raven had protected her and Robin during the explosion. She was in severe need of a hairbrush but otherwise unharmed.

"Too fine," Robin sniped.

Liz whipped around to face him. "Excuse me?"

Much calmer, Cyborg asked, "What does that mean?"

Robin had been folding the blanket with as much attitude as one could put into such a simple chore. He dropped it forcefully as he glared at Cyborg. "Am I seriously the only one not falling for this?"

"Falling for what?"

"Yeah," Liz crossed her arms, voice dangerous. "Falling for what, Robin?" She spat his name like poison.

"Where'd you two learn to fight like that, Liz?" He hissed with equal venom.

"Where- what- I don't- what are you even-" Danny saw panic flash in her eyes as she stuttered, and Robin latched on to it like a vice.

"Scared to answer? Where'd all that confidence go?"

"Robin," Cyborg stepped between them. "What is your problem, man?"

"My problem? What's yours? You can't seriously be this stupid!"

"Dude," Beast Boy poked his head out from under his blanket. "Take a chill pill."

"Shut up, Beast Boy."

"Hey!" Starfire tossed her tweezers to the side. "There is no need for that kind of language."

Robin's neck popped with the speed he turned on her. "Stay out of this, Starfire."

"There isn't a 'this' for her to stay out of!" Cyborg snapped, drawing the attention back to him. "What's with the attitude?"

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" Robin sneered.

"I'd love it if you could, 'cause all I'm reading is 'BS'."

"They walked away unscathed!" He yelled.

Danny desperately wished he was anywhere else.

If you were to look up the word 'confused' in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of Cyborg. "I'd hardly call Danny 'unscathed'!"

"By his standards?" Robin argued. "A nosebleed and a dip in the ocean? He may as well have tucked him into bed and read him a bedtime story! And you," He jabbed a finger toward Liz. "There's not a scratch on you!"

The panic in her gaze gave way to petty anger. "Not true," she pulled off her hoodie and revealed scrapes running up her upper arms; Danny didn't know when she'd gotten them or why she hadn't said anything earlier, but she didn't sound too bothered. "Here's at least one."

Danny couldn't help it; he laughed. Maybe it was the stress and exhaustion, maybe it was the deadpan way Liz spoke, maybe it was the mental image of Slade narrating Winnie The Pooh, but Danny couldn't stop laughing.

"I still don't get where you're going with this," Cyborg said. Gently, he turned Liz so he could see the worst of the scratches, applying the same cooling cream he'd used on Danny.

"They're working for him!" Robin finally exploded.

For a second, the room fell silent. All eyes were on Robin. No one moved, no one breathed. Danny's drained brain reeled trying to piece together who the 'him' he supposedly worked for was.

"Robin," Starfire broke the silence with a cautious step towards her friend. "They are not working for Sla-"

He jerked away. "It wouldn't be the first time he snuck someone into our lives."

"They aren't like her," Beast Boy said quietly. "They aren't Terra."

"Oh right, guess you would be the expert on that."

Beast Boy's eyes went glossy and Starfire gasped. "That was uncalled for!"

"It's not my fault you're all letting yourselves get played a second time!"

"Robin," Cyborg said warningly.

"They weren't even creative about it! I mean, how many more times are we gonna fall for the 'nowhere else to go' trick?"

Liz scoffed and pulled away from Cyborg. "Are you shitting me? We didn't want to come here to begin with! You're the ones who didn't give us a choice!"

"It was a good angle, I'll admit," Robin took a menacing step towards her. "Pretending you didn't want help. You almost had me, too. But you couldn't help yourself, could you? You had to show off- had to prove you had what it takes to be part of the team."

"I don't know if you noticed, bird brain, but the only reason you aren't on a gurney is cause we helped save your sorry ass."

"And wasn't that convenient? Our worst enemy shows up unannounced and you just so happen to be there. As if that weren't enough, you managed to remain the last ones standing, you were the ones to finish the fight."

"I think what you're trying to say is 'thank you.'" There was less than a foot of space between Liz and Robin now.

"I'll ask again; Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Is that jealousy I detect? It's unbecoming of you."

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"You're turning red, Angry Bird."

"Where?"

Liz leaned in and smirked. "Go pluck yourself."

Starfire shrieked as Robin lunged, fists flying. Danny was out of bed and halfway across the room, stomach in his throat, watching Liz dodge punches frantically.

"Stop!" Cyborg yelled, sticking an arm out to keep Danny from intervening.

Beast Boy leaped up to hold Robin back, but he ducked away. Liz used the distraction to grab Robin's wrist and pull him off balance; with his free hand, he grabbed her arm where she was injured and spun, shoving her into a wall. She snarled and kicked his legs out from under him. His weight fell forward and Liz used it to drop them both to the floor. They struggled for a moment before coming to a standstill; Liz's legs pinned Robin's to the tile, one hand keeping his arm immobile, the other caught in his punishing grip.

"Is that the best you got?" Liz growled, tightening her hold on Robin's wrist.

"Trust me," He twisted his hips to buck her off. "I'm holding back."

"So am I."

"Liz!" Danny broke past Cyborg's barricade and pulled her away. The robot rushed to grab Robin before she could attack again.

"I want you gone!" Robin shouted, straining against Cyborg's hold.

"No!" Starfire protested.

"Fine by me!" Liz yelled back.

"No!" Starfire tried again.

"We never should have brought you here in the first place," Robin's voice was ice cold.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out. "ENOUGH!"

Everyone froze. When the lights came back on, they were dim. Raven stalked out from the dark corner she'd been resting in. Danny caught a glimpse of her face and his blood ran cold; her eyes were pure red. Beast Boy shuddered as she walked by.

"Outside, now." Her voice was dark, almost demonic. She wrapped a hand around Robin's bicep and marched him out of the infirmary. No one risked arguing.

Robin's absence didn't ease any of the tension. Liz was stiff in his arms, muscles tensed like a live wire. Danny could feel his pulse in his ears and braced himself for the onslaught of insults from the rest of the Titans, to hear every nasty name they could think of while they chased him and Liz out of the tower.

Cyborg exhaled heavily and dragged a hand down his face. "Holy shit."

Starfire appeared next to Danny. "You should sit," she said softly.

As soon as his butt touched the bed his adrenaline crashed hard. All the pain that he'd pushed to the back of his mind in the commotion was back in full force- maybe even stronger than before. Still, anxiety pulsed hot in his chest. He didn't want any false kindness or forced pleasantries; he just wanted to get kicked out so he and Liz could find a place to camp for the night and he could finally sleep.

"We can leave as soon as Danny's okay," Liz said as Cyborg guided her to sit in the closest chair.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said.

"I'm fine," Danny lied. "We don't have to wait that long."

Cyborg shook his head.

"We can leave now," Liz agreed, trying to rise from the chair.

"Liz, girly, look at me," Cyborg cupped her face in his hands. "You aren't going anywhere- we aren't kicking you out."

She blinked uncomprehendingly. "But… But Robin-"

"Is having a moment," Cyborg finished. "It has nothing to do with you, so try not to take it personally."

"But I- we fought and-"

"Don't worry about it," Beast Boy spoke up with a cough. "He attacked first."

Starfire used a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder to lean him back on the bed. "You need to rest," She said. "Both of you."

Danny felt lightheaded from emotional whiplash. Liz looked lost. Cyborg poked at the scrapes on her arms, cleaned them, and wrapped them in soft gauze. Starfire puttered around, cleaning up discarded supplies, bringing Beast Boy and Danny water, and putting a clean set of sheets on an empty bed.

"It will be best to sleep here tonight," She explained. "That way there is easy access to medicine if you need it."

Liz still looked like a deer caught in headlights, moving unsteadily to the bed that was now hers. "I don't… I don't understand."

"You don't have to," Cyborg whispered, dimming the lights and draping a blanket over her legs. "Just know that you're safe here. We aren't gonna let anything happen to you- least of all Robin's crappy temper."

Beast Boy snored from his cot, but it sounded like an agreement.

"We will check on you while you sleep," Starfire promised. She set a remote on the table between them. "If you need something and we are not here, press this."

Danny nodded numbly. He didn't know what else to do, what else to say. His brain had finally overloaded; all he could feel through the fog was bone-deep exhaustion. Every time he blinked, it was an effort to open his eyes again.

The day was finally catching up to Liz too. She didn't argue when Cyborg offered her a cup of water and a painkiller, didn't stop him from reclining her bed, didn't so much as flinch as he tenderly brushed her bangs out of her face and wished her good night. She didn't say anything until both he and Starfire had left the room and disappeared into the hallway.

"Do you believe them? She whispered sleepily, turning to look at Danny. "Do you believe that we're safe?"

He hummed noncommittally, too tired to speak. She nodded, rolling her head back so she stared at the ceiling. "Me too."

If he'd had the energy, Danny would have explained why he was unable to answer her question; he wasn't sure he remembered what safety felt like. Laying there, fighting sleep, he tried to recall all the moments in his life that had felt truly safe and secure. Looking back, there weren't many, but the ones he did have contained one constant.

It wasn't about his faith in the Titans. It didn't matter where he was, or if he was injured, or if he knew the next day would only bring new horrors.

All that mattered was her.

Danny forced his complaining body upright and tip-toed over to Liz's bed. She wasn't quite asleep yet and didn't seem surprised at all to see him standing there. Without a word, she shuffled over to make space for him. The blanket was too scratchy and the cot was too small, but none of it bothered him.

As he drifted off to sleep, arms around Liz, he thought, safety feels a lot like this.